The Importance of Nier: Automata

I like video games. A lot.
I've been playing games since I could walk, all the way from Pac-Man and Space Invaders to today's games.
One thing I would never ever say though is that games are important (not in the vital sense anyway).
Social equality, intellectualism, accessible education and healthcare. Those things are important, not video games. Just because I play games obsessively doesn't mean I don't understand that they are just a hobby like any other. So when I say a game is important, believe me, I'm not pulling that statement out of my arse.

Nier: Automata was a surprise to me, not just in how good the game is (and believe me, it's a fucking incredible game).
This game manages something that until now no other game (or movie, book, comic... etc) has ever done. It gave me a feeling I've never felt before. It took advantage of its medium to convey a feeling in such a manner that it left me shaken, confused, elated and giddy.

***POSSIBLE SMALL SPOILER****
Now, I don't want to give away spoilers, but let's say it's during the credits for the last, true ending when the game, which up to that point has been brutally playing with your emotions and leaves you with a sense of loss and sadness. Then suddenly, the game pulls the rug from under your feet and rekindles your hopes and empowers you, not as the game character, but as you, the player. Then it does the most extraordinary thing. It gives the sense that you're not alone and that when faced with impossible odds, you can face them if you stand together. 
The incredible thing is that that message is not written, spoken or acted. It makes live it.
Sure, it's all smoke and mirrors but that's the beauty of it. I felt a sense of hope and mateship directed at me personally. It was actually quite moving and I doubt anyone who plays through it is prepared for the emotional punch.

Now this is the bit that makes Nier: Automata important.
Art is about conveying messages or feelings. Art is about experimentation and fooling of the senses.
Nier: Automata takes advantage of its medium in ways no others have (that I know of). It has demonstrated the power that video games have as a communication tool.
Nier: Automata has, at least in my eyes, elevated video games to an art form.

Now, because I'm a self centred prick, I'm going to talk about myself.
This is the reason why I refuse to call myself an artist. While I'm making a comic that will hopefully make someone smile and have a bit of a perv at the girls I draw, Nier: Automata innovates and it's not afraid to take you on a ride unlike any other other.

If you want to experience art, get Nier: Automata. It's a rare, magical glimpse into power of imagination and skill and what it can do to you on an emotional leve. A fucking masterpiece like no other.